Column: Keeping Idea of Democracy New
Reflections on July 4th — then and now.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Ask your friends what they plan to do on the Fourth of July and many will likely respond by telling you what they "always" do: the concert on the Mall, a local fireworks display, the neighborhood parade with flag draped wagons or maybe an annual pilgrimage to the beach. America’s birthday calls for traditional celebrations, so we create our own rituals that are both patriotic and familiar. And then they become a part of who we are.

These comforting traditions stand in stark contrast to the first Independence Day on July 4, 1776, when the assembled members of the Continental Congress voted to create something brand new — a profoundly different model for the role of government among the civilized nations of the time. Their revolutionary declaration asserted the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and proclaimed that "to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

TODAY, we take that statement for granted. But in 1776 it was provocative and confrontational. Moreover, their Declaration was intended to insult King George III with accusations that his despotism was a form of treason to his own people, an affront that created an even bigger sensation at the time. Their challenge to tyranny would resonate across the world and through the ages.

Each Fourth of July when I participate in the Great Falls parade, the Vienna festival or gather with friends for the Langley High School fireworks celebration, I am reminded that our community involvement is both created from and affirmed by our shared beliefs about government. As we celebrate the nation’s birthday, we also hold up the civic groups and service and professional organizations that bind us together in common purpose, just as the members of the Continental Congress were bound 233 years ago, believing that they could achieve together what none of them could do alone.

My many years of public service and community involvement have reinforced my deeply held conviction about a basic principle of our democracy: that government should be what we do with people, not to them. When we bring people along and offer them the chance to participate in, rather than just observe the decisions that affect us, we are all stronger as a community and a society.

IN THE MIDST of our familiar and traditional Independence Day preparations, we can recommit ourselves through our own communities to that "new" idea from 1776 — the bold concept about a covenant between a just government and the consent of the governed. Whether we are elected, appointed or we volunteer, we can accomplish so much together through our civic associations, public councils and service groups that we can not do alone. Our task as Americans is to keep the idea of our democracy new. Let’s work together so that it remains a shining example for hopeful people everywhere.

By Margi Vanderhye

State Delegates (D-34)

Join us in Great Falls on July 4th to walk with Margi in the community Parade.  The Parade starts at the Village Green off of Georgetown Pike & Walker Rd in Great Falls and we will be meeting in the bank parking lot at 9:15am to assemble and put final decorations on our float.  RSVP to John at john@vanderhye.com if you wish to participate.  Hope to see you there!

Last week, the Northern Virginia Technology Council endorsed Margi Vanderhye for re-election as Delegate for the 34th district (McLean, Tysons Corner, Great Falls and Dranesville).  This is the first major endorsement by a business organization in the 2009 cycle.  It shows that Margi has established a strong reputation as a business-oriented centrist who can work effectively to help Virginia business grow. 

Vanderhye said "I am very pleased to have the NVTC's endorsement. This northern Virginia organization has a statewide impact on business development and is closely identified wtih the ideas and capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship in the 21st century.  As a member of the House Science and Technology Committee, I look forward to working with them to keep Virginia a great place to do business and a magnet for creative, technology centered companies to locate as well."

Join us to help spread the word to your friends and neighbors about Margi's success in her first term and her 2009 campaign for re-election.

We will be meeting at 6830 Elm St, McLean VA 22101 every Saturday at 10am and every Sunday at 12pm.  Volunteers can go out to canvass in partners or alone.  To confirm you are coming, email info@vanderhye.com or call John at 360-296-8481

Hope to see you there!

Delegate Vanderhye was the speaker at the final luncheon of the 2009 Leadership Fairfax class on Wednesday, June 10. Herself a 1990 graduate of the program, she spoke about her philosophy of leadership which included these components: know who you are; listen more than you speak; listen to absorb rather than to respond; and work to bring people along to common ground. She gave examples from her work on the National Capital Planning Commission, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, and the Vestry of St. John's Church and quoted Tennyson's poem, Ulysses and Garry Wills book Certain Trumpets to illustrate her points.

Wayne Hill, President & CEO of Leadership Fairfax, Inc. thanked Margi's for her "magnificent address" to the group and led the two dozen or so LFI graduates in a lively Q&A session after the talk. Any Fairfax County resident interested in finding out more about Leadership Fairfax should visit the group's website at www.leadershipfairfax.org